Sweetie
by lattelibrapunk
Summary: Happy gets more than she bargained for when she leaves that morning for some peace and quiet.


This is for the lovely Shan who wanted to read some sweetness and comfort for Quintis after a scary stitch with a gooey, emotional reunion. And a big thank you to Kylie for being an amazing beta!

* * *

The relief she felt at being alone was tinged only with a slight guilt at sneaking out while Toby was still asleep. Their true days off were few and far between and with the baby due in six weeks, her to do list was a mile long and she still preferred to tackle most of it on her own. Despite being happily married for three years now, not even her husband was allowed to tell her she needed to be accompanied on her errands, heavily pregnant or not.

She went grocery shopping first and then got to the hardware store right when it opened. She had to get what she needed to put her finishing touches on the baby gates she was making for their house, from the framing for the crib she constructed the first time she thought she was pregnant. It was only recently that Happy learned how uncomfortable Toby was about their baby having a metal crib.

The rocking chair Toby made was already in the nursery and he convinced Happy to let him make a crib out of wood that would be a warm and safe space for their baby to start his life. _You're doing such an amazing job keeping our baby safe as he grows. Let me make the crib for where he'll stay when he finally joins us._ Even now, Happy had to bite back her grin at how sweet Toby was.

But, whatever warm feelings she felt melted when he moved to overbearing at an alarming rate. One missed call and a text message had Happy groaning as she sat outside the bank in her truck. Knowing that he'd keep it up, she texted back how she left a note and reminded him that she was pregnant, not incapacitated.

It took her longer than she'd ever admit to get out of her truck and with her phone in her pocket, she made her way into the bank. The line wasn't long but there were only two tellers working at a glacial speed and she was at the end of the line. Standing on her feet for heaven knows how long as she waited wasn't her ideal. But, it got her out of the house and she promised Cabe she'd deposit the money he wanted the baby to have in person. _I should have done this online. That's the last time I promise Cabe anything._

Resigned to her fate, and the certainty that Toby would give her a foot massage when she got home, she decided to text him back as her phone beeped twice during her short walk inside.

Caught up in a banter with him that had her smiling slightly as she waited in line, Happy didn't notice the woman arguing with the teller.

"I need that money," she exclaimed.

The outburst made Happy look up and she saw how agitated this woman was, not to mention how the other people froze and could feel the same _not good_ in the air that she did. Slipping her phone into her pocket, she took in the scene around her.

There was a small purse on the counter and as the woman got more and more wound up, she clutched at it and the teller behind the glass did all he could to placate her with fear wide in his eyes. "Ma'am, I can't do that when there's no money in the account." His voice shook and by Happy's guess he was only a kid, maybe twenty if by a day.

Able to sense the beginnings of an altercation before it could escalate, Happy felt her heart drop realizing there was likely a gun in that bag. When she saw how the manager filling in at the counter in front of her moved her hand under the counter, it was all but confirmed. She knew that the silent alarm had been sounded and acted.

A showdown in a bank was the last thing she needed on her day off but there was nothing she could do now except to de-escalate and get as many people out before the woman noticed. There weren't many people in there now but still, Happy knew that the less inside the better. Leaning up to the man in front of her, she whispered for him to leave.

"What?" His voice was louder than Happy preferred so she turned and grabbed his shirt to pull him down to her level.

"Get out," she said through her teeth. "Panic and it will be worse. Trust me, okay?"

His eyes widened and he looked at the woman continuing to argue and Happy gave him a look that conveyed _yep, that's why you need to get your ass out of here._

He nodded and the woman standing in front of him heard as well and nodded at Happy. Letting the other two people know and Happy's muttering of _don't make it obvious_ had them scurrying to the back exit. The man stopped at the door to look at her and she shook her head indicating she wasn't leaving. _Go_ , she mouthed and he was out the door in an instant.

Happy moved forward and smiled at the manager she recognized from when she and Toby applied for their mortgage. She knew what they did and gave Happy a tight-lipped smile for what she did in clearing the bank so quietly. "How can I help you today, Mrs. Quinn?"

Pulling the check out of her pocket, she slid it under the divide. "Depositing a check." Doing her best to assess the situation further and maintain calm, the woman next to her exploded when she saw the place empty.

"You called the police," she accused Happy, now wielding the gun and leaving nothing to the imagination.

"I did not." Happy stressed each syllable and her face showed that she wasn't amused.

"Where did everyone go?"

"They left," Happy stated coolly. "Why don't you put that gun down and not do something you'll regret?" She chose to not pull any punches and cut straight to the chase. She was the one facing a barrel of a gun and decided if she could talk her down, that's what she was going to do.

Before she could answer though, Happy's phone went off and they all jumped. _Hey, hey, hey… Love is like a bomb baby c'mon get it on…Livin' like a lover with a radar phone…_

"What the fuck is that?"

Happy rolled her eyes and moved to get the phone when this woman told her to stop as the gun waved back and forth. "I'm just reaching for my phone, alright?" Happy said.

"No," she told her as the song continued. _Lookin' like a tramp, like a video vamp…Demolition woman, can I be your man?_

"It's not going to stop, he'll keep calling until I pick up."

"I don't care who's calling you, you're not answering your phone." She was clearly flustered and Happy saw that she was in over her head.

"You don't get it. My husband is the most annoying man on the face of the earth. And do you see how pregnant I am?" At the woman looking down, Happy's eyes grew for emphasis as she continued. "It took a considerable amount of effort to get out of the house before he woke up this morning. All I wanted was some peace and quiet. Which I'm not getting by the way," she muttered. "That said, if he calls again and I still don't answer, he'll keep at it until he freaks out and decides to retrace my steps."

"That's overbearing."

"Tell me about it." Noticing how this young woman was not in her right mind, Happy decided to take a more human approach. The more Toby approach. "What's your name?"

Now the woman's entire demeanor changed and she stiffened, her hand around the gun tightening and her stance deepening. "What the hell does that matter? Stop talking and-"

Def Leppard was heard again and the manager spoke up. "Please, let her answer the phone. Her husband really won't stop calling."

"Not until I get what I want."

"I'll try," the manager said. "Mrs. Quinn won't go anywhere, you can trust her. Please let her answer the phone so he stops calling."

There was silence and the song ended. Happy's heart was in her throat but years of indifference taught her to keep a neutral expression.

It wasn't sixty seconds before he called again and the gun was still firmly clutched in this woman's hand several steps out of Happy's reach. "Take it, then give me the phone."

"Thank you." Happy pulled the phone out and answered it with a swipe of her thumb. "Hi, sweetie, what do you want? I'm at the bank."

Rage washed over the woman and she lunged for Happy's phone, smashing it on the ground and then backing up again, gun trained right for Happy's chest. "I knew you couldn't be trusted," she screamed.

* * *

Halfway across town, Toby was frantic, driving toward the bank with Walter on speakerphone. "You don't get it. Something is going on in the bank and she's in trouble."

"I'm checking now, Toby," Walter said. "This is Happy we're talking about."

"I know that, 197. My very pregnant, very stubborn wife is in a bank with a maniac who smashed her phone. I'm aware."

"And how do you know that her phone was smashed?" Walter asked.

"Because all she got out was that she was at the bank, and _she called me sweetie!_ "

"Oh, that's not good," Walter murmured.

"I know," Toby basically shrieked. "She doesn't use-"

"No, the silent alarm at Union Bank on Figueroa was tripped nine minutes ago. Police are responding to an armed robbery there now."

"Dammit." Toby was banging on the steering wheel in frustration at being stuck at a red light with cars lining up in front of him.

"Toby, where are you?"

"Five minutes away and in bumper to fucking bumper traffic. This is where I need Happy's crazy driving." He choked back a sob before sniffling. Then Walter heard tires screech and asked what was going on. "I'm taking a shortcut. My lady needs me."

Horns honking and screeching tires had Walter on edge. "If you die in a car crash, Happy will kill you."

"You're one to talk, O'Brien," Toby snapped. "But I do commend you on the humor. Good job." Walter was about to say something when Toby cut him off. "The bank is the next block over, I gotta go."

Parking illegally and sticking out, he didn't care as he ran down the block to see cop cars and an ambulance. The area was still blocked off and he pushed his way to the wooden barriers. He scanned the crowd and his heart slowed down as he reminded himself to breathe, only exhaling when he spotted Happy sitting on the back of an ambulance, swatting at an EMT trying to get her to take some oxygen.

"Happy!" he cried out, squeezing through and getting to her before he could be stopped. "That's my wife, back off."

"Doc," she called, letting the cop know it was okay. "You got my meaning."

"Of course I did," he brushed back a lock of her hair that fell in her face, "sweetie."

"It's the first thing I thought of. I knew it would tip you off." She leaned into his touch and sighed. "I'm really fine. I was going to call you as soon as I got my hands on a phone."

Nodding, Toby dropped to his knees and held the sides of her face gently. "Tell me what happened. Are you okay? How's the baby?"

"Deep breaths, Doc," she said with a nervous laugh while her hands covered his to bring them away from her. "I'm fine, she wasn't dangerous."

"She broke your phone, babe."

"That she did, but she was scared, in over her head."

"With a gun, Hap. I'd call that dangerous."

"How'd you know she had a gun?" Happy asked.

"Walter told me," he revealed. "I called him as I was driving here."

"I'm not surprised. Anyway, the safety was on and she didn't want to hurt anyone." Happy quickly recounted how the woman was desperate for the money her ex drained from their account and didn't know until he disappeared. "We've known people like this, she reached rock bottom and thought this was her only way out. She wasn't going to shoot me."

He wasn't convinced but felt such joy to have her safe and in front of him that he brushed it aside for the moment.

Happy squeezed his hands that she was still holding and smiled at him. "The baby's kicking like mad right now, has been all morning." His eyes lit up and when he saw the material of her tee shirt flutter under their son's kicking, Toby broke into the biggest grin. "You want to feel him?" Happy asked.

"But we're in public," he said slowly, clearly conditioned not to upset her boundaries and their dynamic that he was used to after years of being together and constantly reminded of.

Bringing his hands to rest on her bump, she rolled her eyes. "After what happened today, I can loosen that rule. Now shut up and kiss me."

Not needing to be told twice, and with his hands feeling their baby kick away happily, Toby leaned over to kiss his wife. Her lips were soft as ever and she parted them for him slightly, deepening it briefly before she pulled back to rest her forehead against his.

"I love you, Happy," he whispered with a kiss to her cheek. "I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that you're safe and sound, babe."

She laughed and moved her hand to slide up his neck and tangled her fingers in his curls. Kissing him again softly, she bit her lip before she spoke again. "I don't say it enough, Doc, but I love you like crazy."

He smiled so widely and she brought her other hand up so she was holding his face now. "Don't let that get to your head though." Toby shook his head but his eyes sparkled and she wasn't able to keep her lips from quirking up. "Out of everyone, you know me best."

"Damn right I do, I'm not your best friend for nothing."

"That you're not," she agreed, going in for another kiss before she told him she wanted to go home.

"My sentiments exactly, honey bear."

Happy gave him a look as she stood up with his help. "I'm driving my truck and when we get home I want a foot rub."

"I'll give you a full body massage if you want. And as a doctor, I'd recommend a warm bubble bath to alleviate the stress of today."

"Let me guess," she said as they walked back to the parking lot. "You'll take it with me to make sure I'm relaxed."

"Absolutely," he smirked. "Your health is my number one priority."

"It's a good thing you're cute, Curtis."

"And you love me." He sang the last two words while holding her arm as she got into the truck. She rolled her eyes again but that didn't deter his smile. "Don't deny it, I know you love me."

She sighed and told him to get home soon. "Think you can keep up with me?"

His mouth opened and his eyes narrowed. "I believe I can, _Mrs_. Quinn. I've picked up a few tricks from my speed demon of a wife."

Taking advantage of his smugness, she started the engine and said to get going then. He stepped back as he knew she was going to steal a head start. Once she was off, he jogged back to his car and ignored the ticket on the windshield while thinking of ways to make up for the hell of a morning Happy endured. All while reminding himself that his badass wife asked him to kiss her in public.

* * *

If you have time, I'd love to know what you thought =)


End file.
